Canada’s emergency management system, by in large, has a bottom-up approach with the responsibility of responding to a disaster firmly placed in the hands of the local municipality and the traditional 9-1-1 emergency services. The provinces offer the coordination of provincial resources (HUSAR, EMAT, mass casualty teams, conditional disaster funding), and the federal government has the option of sending in the proverbial troops. Billions of dollars have been spent on response. However, there is a clear and significant need to invest in resilience.
A disaster-resilient organization addresses risk through mitigation, prevention, preparedness, and business continuity management – in advance of [as well as] response and recovery. The Federal Emergency Act and subsequent provincial emergency management legislation loosely prescribe that government agencies, ministries, and municipalities develop an emergency management program, thus creating resilience – to a point.
Critical infrastructure sectors (energy and utilities, finance, food, government, health, Information and Communication Technology, manufacturing, safety, transportation, water), primarily private or public businesses, have the aid of the federal government, but not the mandates required to ensure their resilience. Take one of Canada’s largest cellular providers which has failed twice within the past 2 years as an example. Not to mention how critical infrastructure relies on critical infrastructure. What are the requirements for continuity of operations to maintain these essential services?
To ensure a disaster-resilient Canada, emergency [management] legislation must be modernized to mandate:
*Robust mitigation and prevention methodologies that address today’s evolving threats,
*The continuity of essential services provided by the Critical Infrastructure sector, and
*Interoperability and coordination between all levels of government.
The buck does not stop at the bottom (or top).
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